Brussels terror attack: Staffordshire businessman describes horror scenes at airport

Paul Tilsley, aged 46, of Stowe Lane, Stafford, was in a meeting at Ideal Standard head office in Zaventem, opposite the airport, when he saw smoke coming from the terminal.

He said: "We didn't hear the bomb or device go off, but we saw the plumes of smoke.

"As soon as we saw the smoke we realised something was wrong. We found out what it was about ten minutes later via Twitter."

Mr Tilsley, who is a quality director for the firm which manufactures sanitary products, regularly travels to Europe, Asia, and the Middle East. He was in a meeting with ten other people when the attacks began.

He said: "The saddest thing for me was hearing the sirens of the ambulances.We looked out the window and all you could see was 30 or 40 of them ploughing down the motorway.

"It was a cacophony of noise, of sirens and people in distress."

Mr Tilsley's company immediately began to get people out of the office and back home.

He added: "The first thing the company did was get us all in a room and ask who would need to stay overnight and immediately booked 30 hotel rooms.

"All the Brussels nationals left the office straight away. I stayed until 6pm.

"I'm stopping at the Crowne Plaza hotel near the airport and I was expecting a colleague to fly in from Germany to meet me on March 22. Obviously he's been unable to make it and the hotel almost snatched my hand off when I said he no longer needed the room. The hotel is really busy with people who have unexpectedly been stranded here and need a place to stay."

All Mr Tilsley's fellow employees were all accounted for following the attacks and he now plans to begin his journey home on March 23.